HR10-250 and SD-DVR40.
I'll make no negative comments about Dish, I was with them almost 7 years. Other than they couldn't provide me with a solid, reliable HD DVR, I had absolutely no issues with them. I did not own a DVR-921 but followed its progress very closely from posts on this site.
Just a quick comment on the DVR40. It is working fine, I set it up to record my wife's programs. As I said, the interface and remote are the same as the HD unit. There have been no issues with its operation.
I have been poking and prodding on the HD unit for almost a week. I have not been able to crash it or screw it up in any way.
I've been recording movies and programs from OTA and SAT. I made 'season passes' for a number of DiscoveryHD programs I have been missing. Amercian Chopper and Rides. I've had no misses or bad recordings.
The OTA stations fit seamlessly into the guide, the PSIP works! Having two OTA tuners was a pleasant surprise.
I did not do my homework on this unit as I did on the 921. I had a chance to buy the HR10-250 from my local dealer and the eight units he had were going out the door very fast.
The 'name based' recording is a fantastic thing
I tried the HDMI output with a DVI adapter to my projector and it worked fine. As stated in the manual, the CV output is disabled when the HDMI is active.
It also appears when the unit is in 1080i or 720p that the s-video is not active either. You have to switch it to 480i to get it to output. Not a big deal but I was thinking of running the s-video to another input on my Onkyo. But if you have to switch the Tivo to 480i what is the sense.
The reason for switching to 480i is to utilize the Faroudja DCDi in the projector for SD programming. I do get a better SD picture. If I output SD programming on the 1080i output the DCDi is bypassed. This is not an issue, just something to play with.
The D* installer was very knowledgeable and knew exactly what he was doing. (as a note: I had no issues with any E* installer that came out over the years either)
I do have an issue with most HDMI > DVI adapters. All the weight of the adapter and DVI cable are on the small HDMI connector. See the attached image. A member HDTVoice did find a solution though, see link:
http://www.bettercables.com/nfor20cocadv.html
The short adapter cable takes all the strain off the HDMI connector.
I am very pleased with both Tivo units. As far as programming, for a few months I have basically everything including the NFL ticket. I have not had a chance to explore all the DTV programming but everything seems to work. I don't get CBS-HD from the SAT but I do from my OTA.
I can highly recommend the HR10-250 (HD Tivo). This unit works! Kind of what you'd expect for $999.
Lee
